Monday, April 25, 2011

MITA Dinner Dance Get Your Tickets Now!!!!

MITA's Annual Dinner Dance will be held on Thursday, May 19, 2011 at Majestic Gardens in Rocky Point from 6:30 - 10:30 PM.       Tickets are $40.00 per person and can be paid with a check or money order made out to MITA (Middle Island Teachers' Association).  Dinner choices include:  Prime Rib, Chicken Marsala and Stuffed Flounder.    $40.00 price includes dinner and dancing.   A cash bar will be available.    No refunds can be given on tickets.   
Please see your building reps for tickets!!!!

At this time. there is no news about a date/time for a meeting and vote.   As soon as there is any news about this, we will get it out there.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

NEWS from NYSUT's 2011 Representative Assembly April 7-9 New York City

Well, it was a busy few days, filled with many "assemblies" in which we joined locals from around the state listen to speakers who discussed everything from defining the priorities of NYSUT for the year to come, to the importance of standing together during these very trying times.....

Some comments that I believe will give you some of the highlights of the RA:

FORMER New York State Commissioner of Education David Steiner addressed the group just one day after his surprise resignation.    "This is an incredibly tough period,"  Steiner said, "Efforts of reform have too often boomeranged into assault...How did it come to that"?      He also made a point of commenting on the "reforms" going on with testing to measure student progress.   He questioned how tests have come to measure differences between adults not children, which resulted in a standing ovation.....

NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira spoke as well, and she explained NYSUT's role in the new APPR, making it clear that NYSUT "participated in negotiating that law because it was the way to advance our principles," she said......."Not 100%.  Not always perfectly, but we knew we had to take charge and be at the table to represent our members."    She said that being involved in the development ensured that collective bargaining retained a central role.

Executive Vice President Andy Pallotta addressed the crowd and vowed "We have not yet begun to fight," pledging that NYSUT will keep fighting to protect the future of New York State's students and the union.  "We are not giving up, and we are not giving in,"  he said.   

The RALLY  on Sunday was very well-attended.    Representatives from many different unions came out in support of workers' rights.    If you were there, you saw for yourself the passion demonstrated by many of the speakers.    

If you were there, you know that my meeting place of the TKTS stand ended up to be impossible!!!    If you made it there, and met other MITA members there, YAY!!!     Those of us who were in NYC already and walked down in the march from the hotel, ended up on the corner of 7th Ave at 40th St,blocks away from TKTS,  right in front of Parsons.    So, we channeled our inner TIM GUNN and had no choice but to MAKE IT WORK.   

I saw a handful of MITA members, as I walked around a bit before the end of the rally to try to see who I could find......   I hope that if you were there, you enjoyed it and feel that it was a worthwhile experience to see it LIVE......    

More follow up on RA news in the coming days......     Thank you for visiting the blog!!!    

Friday, April 8, 2011

LIVE from the NYSUT Representative Assembly!!!!

There is a lot to talk about, based on NEWS from NYSUT's Representative Assembly......Looking forward to tomorrow's RALLY.    Hope to see you there!!!!   

Friday, April 1, 2011

CATCH THE EXPRESS!!!!!

Hello Everyone!
NYSUT announces The Solidarity Express!!
As some of you know, this coming week is the NYSUT Representative Assembly convention in New York City.     All of the MITA officers will be attending this event from Weds - Sat.    
On Saturday, April 9th, the convention will adjourn at 11AM; NYSUT has planned a LARGE rally in support of workers' rights; everyone in attendance will be "marching" down to Times Square to assemble there with other union members from noon - 1:00.  

“Thousands of delegates to NYSUT’s annual Representative Assembly, as well as other NYSUT members, their friends and supporters will march en masse to Times Square in New York City to join other unionists and labor advocates on Saturday, April 9, in support of workers’ rights.
The rally, to begin at noon, will be the culmination of the national AFL-CIO’s ‘We Are One Week of Action,’ planned to build on the momentum generated by the events in Wisconsin.”
http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/labor_16358.htm 

Last night, NYSUT announced at a meeting I attended with Mary Grffin and Sean Robinson, MITA reps, that they were chartering an entire TRAIN,  yes, TRAIN, as in LIRR, to transport members to the rally.   
VOTE COPE is paying, there will be NO CHARGE to ride the NYSUT SOLIDARITY EXPRESS as it has been named. 
It is a 6 car train, that they can expand to 12 cars if we need them, that will be only for union members and guests attending the rally.   
Here is how it will work, MITA building reps. will collect the names and head counts of members who plan to come.  
Members:  You can bring anyone you want with you, as many people as you want.    All paid for by VOTE COPE.   These are our VOTE COPE contributions at work.......     
On the day of the rally, Sat April 9, the train will leave Ronkonkoma at 9:10, stopping only in Hicksville to pick up Nassau members at 9:44.    You will arrive at Penn Sta at 10:30AM......
A NYSUT person will be at both stations a half hour before departure time.     MITA reps will be there as well, to meet you at Ronkonkoma and give you your tickets.     Plan to get there a little early, I would suggest by 8:45.     The tickets will be round trip,  you can take any LIRR train back home.
MORE DETAILS AS WE GET THEM         THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN AND A GREAT WAY TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT TO OUR FELLOW MEMBERS WHO ARE FACING TOUGH TIMES IN LIGHT OF THE CUTS BEING MADE BOTH HERE AT HOME AND IN OUR STATE.